(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mounting assembly for a relay. In particular, the invention relates to an assembly wherein the relay mounts on a connector which is mounted through a printed circuit board with a space provided between the circuit board and the connector such as to allow for air passage for cooling of the connector pins.
(2) Prior Art
The prior art has shown various methods for connecting electronic circuitry particularly for use with printed circuit boards. Illustrative are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,904,934 to Martin; 4,685,753 to Isshiki et al; 4,929,185 to Wong; 4,950,170 to Miller, Jr. and 5,018,982 to Speraw et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,459,998 to Focarile describes a modular circuit assembly which uses connector blocks to provide spacing between printed circuit boards so that air circulates between the spaced boards.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,907,926 to Slack describes a means for packaging electrical circuit assemblies where spacers are used to separate the metalized circuit boards and also to serve as connectors between the boards.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,024 to Eberhardt describes a heat dissipating assembly for solid state components and control circuitry where the printed circuit boards are enclosed in a housing and separated through the use of the conduits on the electronic components. The boards are spaced primarily to provide thermal insulation for the control circuitry from the power circuitry.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,724 to Kaufman described a circuit package where two substrates which contain electronic circuitry are spaced within the housing with one substrate serving to close the opening of the housing to allow for mounting of the housing adjacent to a heat sink. The substrate adjacent to the heat sink will advantageously contain the power circuitry.
Also of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,290 to Noone which describes a photoelectric control unit with a cooling chamber for cooling of the connector pins. The connector pins are designed such that a large amount of the surface area of the connector pins is in contact with the side and base walls of the chamber. The cooling chamber is also substantially filled with a heat transfer medium to conduct heat away from the pins and into the side and base walls.
The above prior art relates to the spacing of printed circuit boards usually to separate heat generating components from the other components. However, the thought is to cool the entire system through the use of heat sinks or the passage of air. The problem is that there is no effective way to provide cooling of an electrical connector mounted on a printed circuit board which provides an easy method of attachment for an electronic component such as a relay.